Dog Food Recall WarningNatural Balance Pet Foods, Inc., of Pacoima, CA, has announced a voluntary recall of their Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Chicken Dry Dog Food due to the possibility of contamination with Salmonella bacteria.

The recall applies to products with the “Best By” date of June 17, 2011 and sold in 5-pound and 28-pound bags.

Complete details regarding this recall are available within the actual FDA News Release dated June 18, 2010.

In a heartfelt letter announcing the recall, company president Joey Herrick provides a factual explanation for the voluntary action.

Dog food recalls involving Salmonella contamination are potentially serious matters… for both humans and pets. People who handle dry food can easily become infected with the bacteria.

According to the FDA…

Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

So, take precautions… and be sure to tell everyone you know.

You can report complaints about FDA-regulated pet food products by calling the consumer complaint coordinator in your area.

I know it sounds silly, but I refused to buy NB when I couldn't for the life of me find a calorie count for the products; I found it a little hard to trust a company that didn't disclose such basic info-- that and the rice protein scare they had a while back.

I was actually in the holistic pet store the other day talking to the owner. They carried NB for a long time. However, they stopped. She said that it's a generally good food, but you can't trust the company to be transparent and tell you everything.

I suppose it's all a crapshoot, really. Wish I could do homemade raw.

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford

For what it's worth, the Pinnacle Duck and Potato has been a great food at our house, and they seem to be a great company. None of my pups have terrible allergies, but that formula is specifically for allergies and I was looking for a not-super-high protein grain free, which isn't easy to find. One of our cats does have a whole host of bad allergies-- skin and coat, digestive, and respiratory-- and the Pinnacle cat food was a miracle for us.

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford